Reborn in the 1980s: Nine Stunning Beauties Get Pregnant Before Marriage

"Are there any other colors?" Chen Yongqiang asked again. Red is too conspicuous in water, after all.

"There's also a green one, the price is the same." The sales clerk turned around and rummaged under the counter, pulling out a piece of army green nylon rope.

Chen Yongqiang took it and looked at it; the green color was clearly more to his liking. "I'll take this green one. Give me thirty meters."

"Thirty meters?" The salesperson asked, somewhat surprised.

"It's useful at home, so we should keep some on hand," Chen Yongqiang replied vaguely, without elaborating further.

The money for the nylon rope, along with the previous bullets, fishing line, fishhooks, and binoculars, cost Chen Yongqiang more than eighty yuan.

Although the equipment wasn't ideal, by piecing it together from various sources, we finally took a step towards upgrading.

"I'm missing a bigger fishhook!" Chen Yongqiang thought of the blacksmith shop in town and pushed his bicycle over there.

Chen Yongqiang parked his car at the entrance and went inside. It was warm and cozy inside, with a smell of coal.

The blacksmith was an old master craftsman in his fifties, wearing a thick canvas apron. He had strong arms and was using tongs to hold a red-hot piece of iron and hammering it on the anvil.

Seeing someone come in, he stopped hammering and wiped the sweat from his brow with the towel draped around his neck.

"What would you like? We have brand new kitchen knives and iron pots, all sturdy and durable," the shopkeeper said, pointing to several finished products hanging on the wall.

Chen Yongqiang glanced at the furniture, thinking it would be good to buy some to keep in his spatial storage, but he had more pressing matters to attend to. "Boss, can you make those iron hooks here?"

The experienced craftsman put down his hammer, walked over, and showed some interest. "Iron hook? What size do you need?"

Chen Yongqiang stretched out his hand and gestured: "About... the size of a palm."

The experienced craftsman listened, squinted, and estimated the size Chen Yongqiang was gesturing with: "A palm-sized iron hook?"

Chen Yongqiang asked again, "Do you think it's possible to do it? The price is negotiable."

The blacksmith walked back to the furnace and poked at the fire with his tongs: "I can forge it, but I've never done this before, so it's hard to calculate the price."

"Give me a fair price," Chen Yongqiang said readily.

The experienced craftsman pondered for a moment, then held up three thick, dark fingers: "Three yuan each, guaranteed to be hard. Pay one yuan as a deposit first, and come pick it up the day after tomorrow."

Thinking of that enormous creature, Chen Yongqiang felt he had to spend the money. "Alright! Do as you said, make me two." He counted out two yuan from his pocket and handed it over.

With the matter settled, Chen Yongqiang felt a weight lifted from his shoulders. He turned and left the blacksmith shop, then got back on his bicycle.

"If I run into that behemoth again, I'll make sure you never return," Chen Yongqiang thought fiercely as he pushed his cart away from the blacksmith's shop.

He had originally planned to stop by Wang Guixiang's place on the way, but then he thought of Gao Yuanyuan.

Judging by the time, she should have borrowed the books by now. So he rode straight to Xinhua Bookstore.

When he arrived at the entrance of the bookstore building, he looked around but did not see Gao Yuanyuan.

"Still not out?" he muttered, propped his bicycle up against the bookstore window and locked it before going inside.

The bookstore was much warmer than outside. Several tall bookshelves were neatly arranged, and there were few customers. It was very quiet.

Chen Yongqiang glanced around and quickly spotted Gao Yuanyuan in a corner at the back.

She was looking down, intently at a thick book lying on the table.

There were two or three more books stacked next to her. She was so engrossed in reading that she didn't even notice someone coming in.

Seeing this, Chen Yongqiang didn't make a sound to disturb them. He tiptoed and naturally turned to the nearest bookshelf, pretending to browse the books on it.

The books on the shelf are not many in variety; they are mostly political books, agricultural technology books, primary and secondary school textbooks, and a few literary works.

Chen Yongqiang's gaze was drawn to a few bold words: "The Barefoot Doctor's Manual".

He pulled out the thick book and flipped through a few pages. Inside were simple illustrations explaining the identification of various common ailments and their folk remedies, as well as knowledge about acupuncture and herbal medicine—it was very practical.

He himself didn't need it, but a thought immediately flashed through his mind: "Ding Wanru would probably like this book."

That girl is usually very attentive and has shown an interest in things like nursing and herbs. Giving her this book might be just what's in it for her.

He looked around the nearby shelves but didn't find anything else he particularly needed, so he took the "Barefoot Doctor's Handbook" and walked to the counter near the door.

The shop assistant behind the counter was dozing off. Chen Yongqiang tapped the counter lightly, paid a few cents, and bought it directly.

Gao Yuanyuan closed the book in front of her and carefully packed the borrowed books and notebooks into the cloth bag she carried with her.

She looked up and her eyes met Chen Yongqiang's.

"Brother Chen? When did you arrive?" she asked in a low voice, carrying a cloth bag as she walked over.

"Just arrived, have you borrowed them all?" Chen Yongqiang looked at the books in her hand.

Gao Yuanyuan nodded, and the two walked out of the bookstore one after the other. A cold wind immediately enveloped them, and Gao Yuanyuan subconsciously pulled her scarf up a little higher.

"Should I give you a ride back?" Chen Yongqiang asked as he unlocked his bicycle.

"Then I'll have to trouble you again." Gao Yuanyuan agreed more readily this time and sat down in the back seat.

The road back to the village seemed shorter than the way there. There were two people on the vehicle, and Chen Yongqiang pedaled a little slower than he had come.

Gao Yuanyuan sat in the back, holding a cloth bag filled with books, occasionally asking a question or two about fishing preparations, to which Chen Yongqiang gave brief answers.

When they reached the village entrance, still some distance from Chen Yongqiang's house, Gao Yuanyuan gently patted Chen Yongqiang on the back: "Brother Chen, this is enough, I'll get off here."

Chen Yongqiang applied the brakes, bringing the car to a steady stop. Gao Yuanyuan nimbly got out of the back seat and straightened her clothes and scarf.

"Thank you for your help, Brother Chen," she said, her tone polite and considerate.

"Don't mention it, it's just on my way." Chen Yongqiang understood her concerns.

There are many people in the village who are easily gossiped about. He is a married man, and she is a single female teacher. If someone sees her getting into his car and going straight to her doorstep, it will inevitably cause unnecessary gossip.

On this point, the two tacitly understood each other.

"Well... I'll head back now." Gao Yuanyuan picked up her cloth bag filled with books, turned around, and walked along the side road leading to the elementary school.

Chen Yongqiang watched her walk a distance before he picked up his bicycle again and rode towards his own yard.

He pushed open the courtyard gate and took the binoculars on his shoulder and the things in his hands into the house.

Lin Xiulian was doing needlework on the kang (a heated brick bed). When she saw him return, she put down her work and said, "You're back? Are you freezing? There are some steamed buns in the pot."

"Not bad." Chen Yongqiang first put the bag of fishing gear and nylon rope in the corner.

Then I opened the pot lid and took out a few steamed buns to fill my stomach.

As for the giant object at the bottom of the reservoir, it will take two more days for the custom-made iron hooks to be installed before we can go and retrieve it.